West Coast University
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| Type | Private, for-profit |
|---|---|
| Established | 1909 (Original), 1997 (Los Angeles, California) |
| Chairman | David A. Pyle [1] |
| President | William C. Clohan |
| Location | Irvine, California, United States |
| Campus |
Los Angeles, CA Ontario, CA Anaheim, CA Dallas, TX Miami |
| Website |
www |
West Coast University (WCU) is a private, for-profit university focused on healthcare degrees, campus locations include Los Angeles, Anaheim and Ontario, California, Dallas, Texas, and Miami, Florida. It is not related to a school of the same name [2] operating out of Panama. David Pyle founded American Career College in 1979 under the name of American College of Optics. Originally the school focused only on optical dispensing. In May 1997, Mr. Pyle purchased West Coast University, which was founded in 1909, out of bankruptcy and developed a program for the training of registered nurses.
West Coast University was founded in Los Angeles in 1909 as a small ophthalmology school. Over the next 50 years, its program offerings varied from aeronautical engineering, applied sciences and mathematics to locomotive diesel engine repairs. As it developed, West Coast University became one of the forerunners in offering bachelor's degree programs designed to meet the needs of working adults to aid their careers. These programs were offered in non-traditional settings. For example, in 1953, the University began offering evening-only programs based on a schedule of six two-month academic terms. The success of this approach led the University to expand and diversify its programs to include offerings in the areas of business and management, computer science, industrial technology, and pre-health science. Associate degrees in Science as well as master's degree programs were introduced in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1981, the University reorganized into three distinct colleges: the College of Business and Management, the College of Engineering, and the College of Letters and Sciences. The University was led by the late Dr. Victor Elconin, whose direction was instrumental in developing the University’s solid reputation in the business and academic community.
In May 1997, WCU was reorganized under the leadership of its current Chairman, David Pyle [3]. The new leadership team was committed to refocusing the institution’s offering of programs to those that were highest in demand and would be most beneficial to working adults. Therefore, educating health care professionals became the University’s singular focus in 2004. Just four years later, West Coast University became the first privately held proprietary university in California approved to offer a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing. The following year, in 2009, the University achieved additional programmatic accreditation for the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at their California campuses from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). That same year, WCU was awarded initial accreditation by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) to offer a Bachelor of Science Degree in Dental Hygiene in Orange County. WCU’s Dental Hygiene program is one of only 4 CODA-accredited bachelor's degree in Dental Hygiene programs offered in California. West Coast University chose Henry Schein to design a new dental hygiene teaching facility in its Anaheim, California campus which opened its doors on April 13, 2009.
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